Complete UK Landlord Guide 2026

Showcase Your Business Identity

BravoHomesUK lets you personalise your landlord account with your own company logo, business name, and custom branding. This branding appears on all key documents and communications you choose — including emails, PDF reports, Excel exports, invoices, and more.

How to Set Up Your Branding

1. Go to Profile > Edit from the user dropdown menu
2. In the Agency Branding section, upload your company logo and enter your business name
3. Scroll to Branding Preferences to choose exactly where your branding appears (tick/untick categories such as Maintenance PDFs, Cost Reports, Contracts, Invoices, Tenant Emails, Vendor Emails, etc.)
4. Click Save Changes

Where Your Branding Appears

• Emails: Your logo and business name appear in the header of all tenant and vendor emails (if enabled in preferences)
• PDF Reports: Maintenance job reports, cost overviews, contracts, and property statements can all display your branding
• Excel Exports: Portfolio cost and financial exports include your logo and business name
• Invoices & Receipts: Payment confirmations and invoices can be branded with your identity

How It Works

• Branding is only shown if you have uploaded a logo and entered a business name
• You control exactly which document types and emails show your branding (master toggle + per-category checkboxes)
• BravoHomesUK never adds branding to legal documents unless you enable it
• All branding is visible in document/email previews before sending

Create Your Landlord Account (Free)

1. Go to BravoHomesUK.com/register
2. Select "Landlord" as your account type
3. Enter your name, email, phone, and a strong password
4. Accept the Terms & Conditions
5. Verify your email address

Complete Your Profile

After registration, complete your profile:

• Upload proof of ID (passport or UK driving licence)
• Add contact & address details
• Connect your bank account via Stripe for rent collection
• Set notification preferences (email/SMS alerts)

Core Legislation Every Landlord Must Know

The Rules (Housing Act 2004, s.212–215)

• You must protect the deposit in a government-approved scheme within 30 days of receiving it
• You must serve the Prescribed Information on the tenant (and any relevant person) within 30 days
• The deposit cap under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 is 5 weeks’ rent (where annual rent is under £50,000) or 6 weeks (where ≥£50,000)

The Three Government-Approved Schemes

What Happens if You Don’t Protect?

• Tenant can apply to court for a penalty of 1–3× the deposit amount
• You cannot serve a valid Section 21 notice to end the tenancy
• The penalty can be awarded even after the tenancy has ended

Deductions at the End of Tenancy

You can only deduct from the deposit for:

• Unpaid rent
• Damage beyond fair wear and tear (documented in inventory)
• Cleaning if left dirtier than at start
• Replacing or repairing items (properly depreciated)

Fair wear and tear — normal deterioration with age and standard use — is not deductible.

Legal basis: Immigration Act 2014 & 2016. Applies to all properties in England.

Your Obligations

• Before granting any new tenancy, check all adult occupants (aged 18+) have the right to rent in the UK
• Checks must be done before the tenancy starts
• Keep copies of documents for the duration of the tenancy plus 1 year after it ends

How to Conduct the Check

There are three ways to check:

1. Manual check of original documents (UK/Irish nationals can use a wide range of documents including passport, driving licence + birth certificate)
2. Online Home Office Checking Service (share code from tenant) — required for those with online immigration status (e.g., EU Settlement Scheme holders). Check at gov.uk/landlords-right-to-rent-checks
3. Identity Service Provider (IDSP) — certified digital identity checking services for British and Irish nationals

Time-Limited Right to Rent

Where a tenant has a time-limited right to remain in the UK, you must carry out a follow-up check either:

• When their leave expires, or
• 12 months after the previous check
• (Whichever is later)

Penalties for Non-Compliance

• Civil penalty: up to £10,000 per occupant for a first breach (elevated from April 2024)
• Repeat breaches: up to £20,000 per occupant
• Criminal offence if you know or have reasonable cause to believe a tenant does not have the right to rent: up to 5 years’ imprisonment

Current Notice Types (England)

After Serving Notice

1. If tenant does not leave, apply to the County Court for a possession order
2. If possession is granted, wait for the court order date
3. If tenant still does not leave, apply for a Warrant of Possession (bailiff enforcement)

Dispute Resolution — Renters’ Rights Act 2025

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 introduces a mandatory Private Rented Sector Ombudsman scheme for all private landlords in England (not just agents). A scheme administrator will be appointed at least 12–18 months before launch. Mandatory sign-up for landlords is expected 2028 (Phase 2). You will be required to join an approved ombudsman service:

• Tenants can raise complaints for free
• The ombudsman can award compensation, require remedial action, and issue formal apologies
• Membership will be compulsory for all private landlords in England — expected 2028

Key Changes for Private Landlords

A House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) is a property occupied by 3 or more people from 2 or more separate households who share facilities (kitchen, bathroom).

Mandatory HMO Licensing

You require a mandatory HMO licence from your local council if your property is:

• Occupied by 5 or more people from 2 or more households, AND
• Has at least some shared facilities

Additional & Selective Licensing

Many local councils operate:

• Additional licensing — covers HMOs not caught by mandatory licensing (e.g., 3–4 person HMOs)
• Selective licensing — applies to ALL privately rented properties in designated areas (not just HMOs)

Always check with your local council whether your property requires a licence. You can be prosecuted and fined up to £30,000 for running an unlicensed HMO.

HMO Management Regulations

HMOs are subject to additional requirements:

• Minimum room size standards (6.51m² for one adult; 10.22m² for two)
• Adequate cooking and bathroom facilities per number of occupants
• Annual gas safety certificate
• 5-yearly EICR
• Fire safety measures (fire doors, fire alarms, escape routes)
• Waste storage and disposal facilities

Collecting Rent via BravoHomesUK

1. Add your tenant to your property (they get a tenant account)
2. Set a rent charge in the Payments dashboard
3. Tenant receives an invoice and can pay online via Stripe
4. Funds are transferred to your connected bank account
5. Full payment history is logged and downloadable

Rent Increases (England)

• During a fixed-term: you can only increase rent if the agreement allows it
• Periodic tenancy: serve a Section 13 notice (Form 4) giving at least 2 months' notice (minimum under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, from 1 May 2026)
• Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 (from 1 May 2026): rent increases limited to once per year. Fixed terms abolished — all tenancies are periodic
• Tenants can challenge increases at the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber)

Managing Arrears

1. Send a friendly reminder (email / message on platform)
2. Issue a formal arrears letter
3. If 2+ months arrears: you may be able to serve a Section 8 notice (Ground 8 — mandatory)
4. Refer to housing solicitor for possession proceedings if needed

Encourage tenants to contact you early if they have financial difficulties. Early communication often avoids escalation and can qualify them for Universal Credit housing cost support.

How short-let fees work on BravoHomesUK

BravoHomesUK uses a transparent banded fee model for short-let / BnB listings. This is separate from maintenance vendor commission.

• Base band: 10.0%
• Professional band: 9.5%
• Premium / Enterprise band: 9.0% (with maintenance-usage eligibility if enabled)
• Minimum fee floor: a per-booking minimum can apply.

Where you can see your active fee

1. Open your short-let property in Create/Edit Property.
2. Go to Short Let / Holiday Let Details.
3. Check the Booking Summary panel for: active fee %, platform fee amount, and host net estimate.

Income Tax on Rental Income

• Rental income is taxable via Self Assessment (register at gov.uk if you haven't already)
• File your Self Assessment tax return annually (deadline: 31 January for online filing)
• You can deduct allowable expenses: letting agent fees, repairs (not improvements), insurance, service charges, ground rent, professional fees. Mortgage interest: no longer directly deductible — replaced by a 20% basic rate tax credit only (Section 24). Higher-rate taxpayers are disproportionately affected
• Keep all receipts and financial records for at least 5 years after the submission deadline

Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax

BravoHomesUK's accounting export tools are designed to integrate with MTD-compatible accounting software such as Xero, Sage, and QuickBooks.

Landlord Tax — Key Points

• Property Income Allowance: £1,000 tax-free allowance on rental income (can use instead of deducting actual expenses if income is small)
• Mortgage interest: No longer fully deductible — replaced by a 20% basic rate tax credit (Section 24, Finance Act 2015)
• Capital Gains Tax (CGT): Payable on profit when you sell a rental property. Must report and pay within 60 days of completion using a UK Property CGT Return. Current CGT rates on residential property (since 30 October 2024): 18% for basic rate taxpayers; 24% for higher/additional rate taxpayers (reduced from 28%)
• Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT): A 5% surcharge applies to purchases of additional residential properties (increased from 3% in the October 2024 Autumn Budget). Always verify current rates at gov.uk/sdlt
• Non-resident Landlord Scheme (NRLS): If you live outside the UK, tax must be deducted at source by tenants/agents unless you are approved by HMRC

• Automate data syncs between BravoHomesUK and your CRM, reporting tools, or custom dashboards.
• Integrate with platforms like Zapier or Make to trigger workflows (e.g., notify your team when a new property is listed, or sync property data to spreadsheets).
• Build custom reports or analytics by pulling your property and account data directly.
• Connect with accounting software or other business tools for seamless operations.
• Save time by reducing manual data entry and enabling real-time updates across your systems.

If you choose the Enterprise package, you’ll unlock API access and can start connecting BravoHomesUK to the rest of your business tools right away.

What You Can Use Today

• GET /api/v1/ — API root and endpoint discovery
• POST /api/v1/auth/token/ — issue or rotate your API token
• GET /api/v1/me/ — current user and subscription context
• GET /api/v1/properties/ — property list for your account

How to Set It Up

1. Confirm your subscription includes API access in Subscriptions → Manage.
2. Go to Subscriptions → Manage → API Setup, then click Generate Key.
3. Copy your token into secure secret storage (never frontend JavaScript).
4. Send requests with header Authorization: Token <your_token>.
5. Test with GET /api/v1/me/, then pull property data from /api/v1/properties/.

Where to Paste the Key

• Zapier (Webhooks by Zapier): In the action step, open Headers and add Authorization = Token <your_token>.
• Make (HTTP module): Add header key Authorization and value Token <your_token>.
• Custom backend: Send the same header on every request to /api/v1/*.

Quick Troubleshooting

• 401 Unauthorized: Header format is wrong. Use exactly Authorization: Token <your_token>.
• 403 Forbidden: Plan does not currently include API access.
• Token exposed: Rotate immediately from Subscriptions → Manage → API Setup.

Security Best Practice

• Treat tokens like passwords; rotate regularly using POST /api/v1/auth/token/ with {"rotate": true}.
• Use server-to-server integrations only.
• If a token is exposed, rotate immediately and retest integration jobs.

Your Legal Repair Obligations (s.11 Landlord & Tenant Act 1985)

You are legally required to keep the following in repair:

• Structure and exterior (roof, walls, windows, doors, gutters)
• Heating and hot water installations
• Gas, electricity, and water supply systems
• Sanitary fittings (toilets, baths, sinks)
• Common areas (if a multi-unit building)

Response Times

Timescales are guidance only. What is “reasonable” depends on circumstances.

Awaab's Law

Named after Awaab Ishak, who died in 2020 due to severe mould in his social housing flat, Awaab's Law (Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023) currently applies to social housing landlords. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 includes an extension of Awaab's Law to the private rented sector (Phase 3). The government will consult on the specific timescales and implementation date before commencement. BravoHomesUK recommends adopting the social housing timescales now as best practice: investigate within 14 days; carry out emergency repairs within 24 hours.

Using BravoHomesUK Maintenance

1. Tenant submits a maintenance request via the portal
2. You receive an instant notification
3. Assign to a verified vendor from your vendor pool — or let Auto-Assignment do it for you
4. Track SLA compliance and costs
5. Costs automatically logged to Finance module
6. Tenant rates the repair on completion

Triage Inbox & Dashboard Workflow (New)

To improve first-time-fix rates, BravoHomesUK now checks report quality before approval and assignment.

1. Open Maintenance → Dashboard and review the Triage Inbox card.
2. Each low-quality request shows a readiness score and a countdown to escalation.
3. Click Open Job to view the Triage Quality panel and see exactly what is missing (photos, clearer description, category, etc.).
4. Click Improve Report to update details, then continue to vendor assignment.
5. Use Maintenance → Triage Inbox for the full queue, or ?scope=overdue to focus only overdue items.

Approval Guardrails

• If triage quality is below threshold, non-staff users are blocked from approval until the report is improved.
• Staff/admin can override when needed, and the timeline records the triage score for audit.
• Every 15 minutes, overdue low-triage requests are auto-escalated to assignment managers with notifications.

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Smart Auto-Assignment — How It Works

BravoHomesUK can automatically assign the right professional to a maintenance job the moment it is submitted — no manual selection required. Here's the exact flow:

Matching Priority — Most Specific Rule Wins

Rules with both a postcode prefix and a category beat rules with only one. Among equal rules, the longer postcode prefix wins (e.g., SW1A beats SW1). This means you can set a general plumber for all of London and a preferred plumber specifically for SW1A.

Setting Up Auto-Assignment (Admin / Landlord)

1. Go to Maintenance → Vendor Directory and approve your professionals
2. On each vendor's profile, enable Auto-Assign and set their category and coverage areas
3. Go to Maintenance → Priority Routing Rules and create rules linking a postcode prefix + category to your preferred vendor list
4. Optionally create Auto-Assignment Rules (Maintenance → Rules) with keyword, time, or priority conditions for finer control
5. New requests matching your rules will be assigned instantly — you'll receive a confirmation notification each time

Professional Types Covered

Auto-assignment works for all registered professional types — not just tradespeople. Once approved, solicitors, accountants, surveyors, mortgage brokers, and energy assessors are part of the same routing pool and can be auto-assigned to the relevant job category (e.g., property_solicitor, property_accountant, surveyor).

BravoHomesUK tracks every professional engagement from the first message you send all the way through to payment completion — with a unique reference at every step so nothing falls through the cracks.

How the References Link Together

Step-by-Step Instructions

Where to Find Everything

A detailed inventory is your most important defence in any deposit dispute.

What a Good Inventory Contains

• Condition of every room, wall, ceiling, floor, door, and window at check-in
• Condition and quantity of all fixtures, fittings, furniture, and appliances
• Meter readings at check-in (gas, electricity, water)
• Number and condition of keys provided
• Photographic evidence (timestamped)
• Tenant signature acknowledging the condition

Check-Out Process

1. Complete a check-out inspection against the check-in inventory
2. Document any changes with photos
3. Distinguish between damage and fair wear & tear
4. Agree any deductions with the tenant
5. If disputed, refer to the deposit scheme’s adjudication service

Do I need to register as a landlord?

In England, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 is introducing a mandatory national Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database. Landlords will need to register before marketing or letting properties and will require a valid registration number. Failure to register will restrict your ability to use Section 8 possession grounds. Check gov.uk for the launch date of the PRS Database. In Wales, all landlords must register with Rent Smart Wales. In Scotland, you must register with your local council. In Northern Ireland, registration with the Landlord Registration Scheme is required.

Can I increase rent during a tenancy?

Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, rent can only be increased once every 12 months. You must use a Section 13 notice with a minimum of 2 months' written notice before the increase takes effect. Tenants can challenge any proposed increase at the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), which sets the open market rent for the area — it cannot reduce rent below the current level. Fixed-term tenancies have been abolished for new tenancies; all new lets are periodic from the outset.

What is the maximum deposit I can charge?

Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019: 5 weeks’ rent where annual rent is under £50,000, or 6 weeks’ rent where annual rent is £50,000 or more. The holding deposit (charged before the tenancy starts) is capped at 1 week’s rent.

Do I need landlord insurance?

There is no legal requirement to have specialist landlord insurance, but standard home insurance is usually invalidated when a property is let. Landlord buildings insurance and landlord liability insurance are strongly recommended.

What if my tenant refuses entry for repairs?

You generally need to give at least 24 hours’ written notice before entering (except in genuine emergencies). If a tenant persistently refuses access, seek legal advice — do not enter without consent as this may constitute criminal offence of harassment or unlawful entry.

How do I evict a tenant for anti-social behaviour?

Use Section 8, Ground 14 (discretionary — anti-social behaviour). You should document all incidents and engage with the local authority or police where appropriate. Ground 7A (mandatory — where tenant or visitor is convicted of a criminal offence or has breached an ASB order, or a closure order has been made restricting property access for 48+ hours) allows you to apply to court immediately with no minimum notice period. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 strengthens both routes, in force from 1 May 2026.